Customer Support

Customers take up a lot of time and attention. There are quite a few of these tasks that you can help take off your client’s plate.

Processing orders and shipments

Processing refunds

Handling customer inquiries

Operating live chat

Following up on orders, inquiries, etc.

Chasing outstanding payments

Updating member records

Inviting/approving requests to join a membership community (e.g. Facebook)

Setting up/updating CRM tools (Customer Relationship Management)

Content Production

If your client has an online presence, they have to create content. Content production, especially for online business owners, is a huge and time-consuming task. And this is where you come in to save the day.

Sourcing photos

Editing photos

Creating graphics

Uploading posts

Formatting posts to be published

Scheduling posts for publication

Improving posts with social share options (such as Click-to-Tweet)

Adding internallinks to posts

Adding affiliate links toposts

Proofreading posts

Editing posts

Coordinating with contributors and guest posters

Managing the editorial calendar

Generating topic ideas

Drafting content

Topic research

Compiling, formatting and uploading ebooks

Keyword (SEO) research

Social Media

Social media can be a great expansion for a VA looking to move beyond purely administrative tasks.

Reporting trends in blog activity, such as hot topics or comment activity

Removing unwanted pages and posts

Tracking website metrics (e.g. Google Analytics)

Email (Inbox) Management

Most of us are overwhelmed by our inboxes. Save your clients hours upon hours every week by taking care of their inbox and leaving behind only the things they actually need to see.

Setting up Gmail or any other email client

Replying to common questions

Flagging important messages that need a reply

Following up on sent emails

Deleting spam

Unsubscribing from unwanted promotional lists

Tagging and archiving emails

Forwarding messages and inquiries to other team members

Using email plugins to optimize

Drafting responses

Finance

If you have a little bit of a financial background (or you’re willing to learn some basic accounting skills) you can offer these services as well.

Creating invoice templates

Sending invoices

Processing payments

Managing affiliate payouts

Updating a profit and loss statement

Bookkeeping

Handling basic payroll duties

Email Marketing

Email marketing is another niche that requires a bit of specialized knowledge, but is fairly accessible once you learn the ropes. As online marketing is booming, email marketing is becoming an even bigger market for VAs.

Setting up autoresponders

Scheduling email campaigns

Designing email templates

Managing the newsletter

Email list segmentation

Scrubbing email lists

Product launch management

Track email campaigns (click throughs, conversions, unsubscribes)

Outreach

Building relationships is something that many entrepreneurs know they need to be doing, but it can easily become a time suck. As their assistant, you can take on some of these tasks.

Leaving comments on other blogs

Contacting influencers and potential partners on behalf of your client

Participating in relevant groups or forums

Reaching out to advertisers for ads or sponsored posts

Finding guest post opportunities

Lead generation

Growing and managing affiliate programs

Setting up interviews

Distributing press releases

Booking speaking engagements

Online Marketing

Online marketing is a “hot topic” right now and the more you learn about this rapidly expanding niche, the more valuable your VA services will be.

Setting up webinars

Providing tech support during webinars

Setting up and updating sales funnels

Setting up/managing paid traffic ads

Creating newsletters and autoresponder sequences

Creating landing pages (e.g. Leadpages)

Creating sales pages

Creating and managing giveaways and promotions

Writing product descriptions (if your client is in the business of online retail)

Designing fliers and brochures

Managing product launches

Audio & Video Production

If you’re into videos or audio tracks (such as podcasts), you’re in a great position to offer your audio/video skills as a VA!

Writing scripts

Producing content (such as intro/outros, illustrations, etc.)

Editing content

Upload videos to hosting platforms (such as YouTube or Vimeo)

SEO optimization(YouTube, etc.)

Uploading audio to hosting platforms (such as iTunes)

Image editing (basic) for each audio or video piece

Inserting audio or video files on blog or website

Sharing audio or video files across platforms

Doing audio or video transcription

Coordinating interviews

Looking for sponsorship opportunities

Researching background on podcast guests

Website Maintenance

Site maintenance is a critical role, and it requires you to be up on the latest security procedures. You’ll need to know enough to create new pages and troubleshoot tech glitches.

Making security updates

Managing backups

Setting up newsites

Adding new pages

Customizing themes

Installing and updating plugins

Setting up integrations (with social media, mailing lists, etc.)

Setting up and integrating a shop page and/or payment gateway

Creating a custom favicon

Making and installing a custom 404 page

Ensuring that website information stays up-to-date

Miscellaneous

As you learn your way around online entrepreneurship, you’ll pick up additional valuable skills that aren’t necessarily simple to categorize, but are still highly valuable. Here are just a few of them.